Jan. 23, 2023—Mainers are looking to how Massachusetts has handled Right to Repair as a road map for how its state will engage.
For starters, 75% of Massachusetts voters in 2020 approved legislation, winning a majority in nearly every single city and town. Maine hopes to get that same power behind its push for Right to Repair.
As reported by the Piscataquis Observer, Maine’s "proposed law is a straightforward one: Any manufacturer that sells a vehicle in Maine would have to make that information available to vehicle owners and independent repair shops.”
As of right now, access is limited or impossible for the automotive aftermarket making diagnosis and, in some cases, repair difficult.
“Those programs make it difficult or impossible for owners to fix issues themselves or take vehicles to local repair shops. Those shops, in turn, are worried about being progressively shut out of the market,” reported the Piscataquis Observer.
On the other side of it are Maine auto dealers that benefit from relationships with manufacturers and could find themselves caught in the middle.
